Home/Worldwide/ Former Somali Refugee At Dadaab Ilhan Omar Elected To US Congress

Former Somali Refugee At Dadaab Ilhan Omar Elected To US Congress

Tonya Becker |Thursday, November 08, 2018

Modal Trigger
Rashida Tlaib AP

Tlaib, Omar join other women of colour who won big on Tuesday night; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman elected to Congress, and Ayanna Pressley became the first black congresswoman in MA.

Omar will fill the seat of Rep. Keith Ellison (D), who is running for the state attorney general and is also a Muslim.

A pair of districts in the Midwest will add Muslim women to the ranks of the US Congress for the first time, CNN has projected.

Fresh off of becoming the first Somali-American elected to Congress, Ilhan Omarsaid Wednesday that she's still enjoying being known for her firsts.

The 42-year-old Tlaib is a Palestinian-American.

In August, she won a crowded primary in the state's deep blue 5th District - an area that covers Minneapolis and some of its suburbs.

Although her election was officially announced on Tuesday, she was elected unopposed as no one came forward to challenge Rashida in another deeply Democratic district.

Tlaib celebrated her congressional victory not with an American flag, but with a Palestinian flag.

Ilhan Omar in an October file photo.

Omar fled Somalia's civil war with her parents at the age of eight and spent four years at a refugee camp in Kenya. "Yes, we marched outside the Capitol, but now we get to march into the Capitol", she wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

MA will also be getting its first black congresswoman while Arizona and Tennessee stand to elect their first woman senators.

The women, both Democrats, include Palestinian-American Rashida Tlaib and Somali-American and former refugee Ilhan Omar. She has a bachelor's degree in politics from North Dakota State University and has also studied public affairs.

Researchers found that people identifying as Republicans were most likely to hold negative ideas about Islam and Muslims.

Popular news

Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster just floated past Mars
Tesla would only be at fault if it issued targets to investors that were recklessly or purposefully made without a basis in fact. First sketch of the new vehicle was presented on the show electric truck from Tesla spent a year ago .

Supreme Court ends fight over Obama-era net neutrality rules
Newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts both recused themselves from the petitions. The Department of Justice made the request Monday after the lower courts failed to meet a deadline for a decision on DACA.

Schumer says new AG must protect Mueller probe
In another tweet , Trump thanked Sessions "for his service" and said "a permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date". Whitaker added in the piece that "it is time for [Rod] Rosenstein...to order Mueller to limit the scope of his investigation".

Dead Brothel Owner Wins Nevada Legislative Seat
Hof's campaign was based on deeply conservative ideals including a hard-line policy on immigration and expansion of gun rights. When Hof died , it was already too late to remove his name from the ballot, and ballots had already been printed and mailed.